Doune Castle

The town of Doune lies on a narrow tongue of land at the junction of the
River Teith and Ardoch Water, and was defended from early times. Evidence of
Prehistoric and Roman settlements was found, and it is possible that there was
an earlier earthen construction on the site of the present castle. Doune's
position at the cross road of routes from the south to the north and west, made
it an extremely enviable stronghold in the middle ages. It is likely that there
was a bridge over the Teith long before the first recorded bridge of 1535.
Doune's importance began to decline with the emergence of more settled
conditions in the 17th century. However, it was garrisoned in the 17th and 18th
centuries when the Stuart dynasty attempted to regain the throne.

Although the exact date is not known, it is Robert Stewart,
first Duke of Albany who built Doune Castle sometime between 1388 and 1398. The
Duke virtually ruled Scotland during the reign of Robert III and the
imprisonment in England of young King James I. His son
Murdoch continued construction after his father's death in 1420 but
irregularities in the structure suggest that plans were altered on several
occasions, and never completed. The castle is an irregular pentagon within high
curtain walls, and the gatehouse facing the approach to the site from the north.
A second, smaller gate was placed in the west wall from which defenders of the
castle could come out unobserved. James I had Murdoch executed after his
liberation in 1424. Doune served as a royal hunting lodge and was occasionally
used by Mary, Queen of Scots. Doune was held by forces loyal to her until 1570.